Systems for separating and recovering metal from a metal-bearing dross are taught in Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,136,262; 6,464,929; and 6,555,050. In such dross processing systems, a metal-bearing dross is removed from the metal melt of a furnace and is placed into a reaction vessel of the dross processing system. An exothermic flux is added and the dross is then stirred to mix the exothermic flux into the dross and to cause molten metal droplets to coalesce in the dross. The molten metal is then allowed to drain from the dross, forming a pool in a bottom region of the reaction vessel with spent (demetalized) dross residing thereabove. After allowing the metal to pool for a sufficient time, a drain plug in the bottom region of the reaction vessel is removed to allow the molten metal to drain into a receptacle for recovery. After draining the molten metal, the reaction vessel is moved to a dump position where the spent dross is free to fall into a container for disposal. The reaction vessel is then returned to a loading/processing position to receive another batch of dross for processing.
While such systems have proven to be effective in recovering a significant portion of entrapped metal, several components of the system are susceptible to damage and/or accelerated wear due to operator error. The resulting systems are dependent on operator skill to ensure effective and safe performance and require an undesirable amount of time and attention on the part of the operator. Furthermore, delays that occur while the operator observes the process and decides when to take action can result in undesirable loss of temperature in the dross and metal, reducing the yield of recovered metal.